Many bottled beverages today are consumed largely because marketing convinces people they want yellow food coloring and brominated vegetable oil (Mountain Dew)

Many bottled beverages today are consumed largely because marketing convinces people they want yellow food coloring and brominated vegetable oil (Mountain Dew) as a source for sugar and caffeine. Other modern drinks are science-inspired products with b-vitamins and amino acids in addition to the old standby, caffeine. These provide the functional boost the old herbal beverages provided. Before caffeine, amino acids, b-vitamins, et cetra, could be synthesized, humans got their performance-enhancing substances from plants: Kola, coffee, tea, coca leaf, etc. I noticed this list of ingredients from the fine submission: > The recipe calls for sassafras, sarsaparilla, hops, chamomile, cinnamon, ginger, green tea and molasses, said Belding. “I think it’s going to taste like a spicy root beer. [...]" Wikipedia suggests most of these ingredients have properties beyond flavor: Sassafras: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassafras#Traditional_medicinal_uses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassafras#Traditional_medicina... Sarsaparilla: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smilax_aristolochiifolia#Medicinal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smilax_aristolochiifolia#Medic... Chamomile: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matricaria_chamomilla#Use_in_human_medicine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matricaria_chamomilla#Use_in_h... Green tea (as a source of theanine & caffeine): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_of_tea#Theanine_and_caffeine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_of_tea#Theanine... Cinnamon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#Health-related_research https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#Health-related_resear... Ginger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginger#Research https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginger#Research My comment on a previous submission on herbal beverages: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22958420 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22958420